Former U.S. Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) responded to the Vatican announcement naming American Cardinal Robert Prevost as the new Pope.
The vocal Trump critic wrote on X: “In an era that looked as if it might be defined by an American man of depraved cruelty, corruption, and shame, what a magnificent thing the Catholic Church has done. The elevation of an American man of goodness, grace, humility, mercy, and faith to the Throne of St. Peter is moving and momentous for us all.”
In an era that looked as if it might be defined by an American man of depraved cruelty, corruption, and shame, what a magnificent thing the Catholic Church has done. The elevation of an American man of goodness, grace, humility, mercy, and faith to the Throne of St. Peter is…
— Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) May 9, 2025
GOP strategist Matt Wylie of South Carolina, agreed and replied to Cheney: “Most people around the world will never experience the kind of freedom we so often take for granted in America. Maybe, just maybe, that’s part of the reason why there was such joy on the faces in the crowd when Pope Leo XIV stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica. In that moment, people weren’t just celebrating a new pope. They were celebrating a symbol of what the United States of America still represents at its best: a nation built on faith, rooted in opportunity, and guided by moral leadership.”
Most people around the world will never experience the kind of freedom we so often take for granted in America. Maybe, just maybe, that’s part of the reason why there was such joy on the faces in the crowd when Pope Leo XIV stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica. In…
— Matt Wylie (@matt_wylie) May 9, 2025
Note: This is not the first time Cheney has spoken about the leader of the Roman Catholic Church as an inspiration and linked the pontiff to America.
In May 2021, before she was removed from the House Republican leadership for voting to impeach Trump for his role in the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol and for failing to back Trump’s claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, Cheney, a United Methodist, cited Pope John Paul II in her final speech as conference chair.
Cheney reportedly told the story of a time in 2004 when her father, then-Vice President Dick Cheney, visited Pope John Paul II, and His Holiness took her father’s hand and said “God bless America.”
Note: Prior to Cheney’s visit, Pope John Paul II had made his opposition to the American-led war in Iraq clear. The New York Times reported that “Mr. Cheney’s visit to the Vatican was a tacit acknowledgment of the Bush administration’s desire not to appear to be at odds with Roman Catholic leaders.”
